For You, I Can
by Leiyoi
Summary: AU. A twelve year long war has just ended. Shima Renzou, a young monk from the village of Assiah, is sent as a representative to sign a peace treaty between Assiah and Gehenna. However, just as he is about to reach the village of Gehenna, an unfortunate accident happens. And that is when he first meets a mysterious young man with dark blue hair...
1. Chapter 1

.:.

It had been a year since the country of Elcross, a place lush with lakes and rivers, had ended its twelve year war. To survive, the many villages on the island had either eaten each other, swallowing village after village and destroyed every other village in its path, or decided to join together to form larger clans until only three large factions were left. The war had ended, leaving most of the country desolate with smoke and ash. However, it was nothing a little time couldn't heal; for both the scars on the earth and on the people. But the thing about scars was that though they could heal over—so that they weren't the previous gashes and wounds they could've been—they never _truly_ went away.

But today was a special day. The sun was rising off the tips of the long, grassy hills, and one lone monk was slowly making his way up a dusty path, head bowed under a large straw hat. In his hand, a bronze staff with ringlets clinked at every step he made. Lifting his free hand up, the young man wiped away at the sweat beading on his brow, making tinkling sounds as he moved due to the beaded bracelet clicking together on his wrist.

"Urgh," He groaned and adjusted his hat over his short and extraordinarily pink-colored hair, "What the hell is this… it's not even noon yet and it's already this hot? Shit…" The young man was dressed in long black robes with the traditional monk garb hanging over his neck and he whined, pulling off the hat to fan himself rapidly, "Damn it, Bon. I should've begged him harder to let me take the horse…" As he climbed to the top of another hill, his light brown eyes could see the wooden and mud reinforced walls of a large village only about another two or three mountains or so away. The slopes on either side of the path had also become steeper, land beginning to cake over with large dark green trees and small winding rivers. He sighed as a light gust of wind blew through his robes, cooling his sweaty skin. Then, he grinned.

Today was exactly one year since the first treaty had been made between the three factions and it was going to be his job to act as an envoy for his village, the Assiah clan, to finish signing the peace treaty this year as well. It was purely protocol, there was no real need to do so, but the villages had agreed to make it a tradition: that every year, they would send someone as a representative to each others' villages. He wasn't exactly looking forward to the ceremony, but it would be his first time visiting this particular area. And the fact that there were rumors going around—that this particular village he was visiting had beautiful women with skin that no other village could dream of having—only excited him further. His grin twisted upwards in a disgusting manner and he hastened his pace, suddenly very eager to reach the village.

"Just wait for me, ladies of Gehenna~" He skipped happily across the path in his straw sandals, "I'm almost there…!"

After crossing the top of another hilly mountain, the young man gasped in exhaustion and leaned onto his staff. "D-Damn… so… so far away…" He took in several breaths of air and raised a hand up to block the sun from piercing his eyes. The man with pink hair squinted, searching the area for a source of water to quench his drying throat. There was a small pool of water in the ravine to his right side and he frowned slightly, wondering if he should risk going for the water. The cliff looked a bit steep but there were a lot of trees to act as footholds.

"Hmm…" He rubbed his chin thoughtfully. As he weighed his decisions, a flash of blue caught his eyes and he blinked when he found movement nearby the water he had been eyeing. A person wearing light blue robes had appeared from the thick trees—all lit up in the sun's golden light—and they knelt down by the water's edge, cupping their hands together to scoop up a mouthful. The man with pink hair smiled, watching the person, who had what looked like messy and short, dark blue hair, drink up the water hungrily. The sunlight that beamed up the forest in a golden light was engulfing that person in a beautiful glow and it made their skin look almost ethereal. The monk gasped and bopped a fist into the palm of his hand. Could it be? Perhaps… one of the women of Gehenna village…? He leaned over the edge of the cliff a bit more, hoping to get a better look, but instead, he felt his foot slip on a loose clump of soil. "Oh, shi—!" was all he could get out as he fell forward, smashing his rib cage against one of the thick tree trunks. The young monk tumbled down, barely able to breathe as he tried to recover from the first impact, and then felt his arm break against another tree as he crashed into it. Finally, his body slowed to a stop and he groaned in intense pain. The man let out a weak laugh, noticing that his arm was in an odd position. His ribs also hurt and it was getting a bit difficult to breathe. He sighed and closed his eyes in exhaustion.

G-Great. Now what? Was that the end of his adventure already? How pathetic… Was this… how he was going to die? Lost by the side of the road, barely able to breath? He heard a rustle of branches and the man opened his eyes a crack, finding that the girl he had been watching was now standing behind one tree and staring back at him with round and vibrant blue eyes. _Wow… her eyes are pretty~ _The man with pink hair vaguely thought and he chuckled to himself dryly. At least he had gotten to see the women of Gehenna at last…? No wait… now that he had a better view of the blue-haired person, he could see that their robes were slightly open at the front. And their chest was flat. **Flat**. The man with pink hair groaned and clenched his eyes shut. Great, it wasn't even a girl…? It was a guy? If it was a guy, then dang, Gehenna had some pretty cute looking guys… He heard the leaves rustle again and after opening his eyes, he found that the person had disappeared. The young monk sighed and then stared up into the canopies of the trees, watching the sunlight grow steadily brighter. Well… there went his only help… Now he really _was_ doomed. Or not. Somehow, he didn't feel that scared. After all, he was close to a village and someone had seen him. _Eventually_, he'd be rescued. In fact, maybe that guy from before went to get help right now.

He closed his eyes, feeling his breath grow increasingly ragged. _Might as well take a nap for now, right? At least… it'll be less painful, I suppose…_ The young man with pink hair closed his eyes again, this time attempting to sink into his unconsciousness. Suddenly, he felt something gently touch his broken arm. He must have dozed off for a few minutes because he didn't hear footsteps approach him at all. Then, he felt something warm and wet swipe across his lips and his eyes fluttered open in surprise. He found the boy with blue hair pulling away from him, lips slightly parted and tongue retreating from his lips, slipping back into his mouth.

What…?

W-Whaaat…?

Did this guy just… k-k-kiss him…? And with… _**tongue**_…?

The boy seemed to notice that he was awake and his blue eyes immediately grew wide in fright. He immediately leapt up to his feet and darted away into the trees again, vanishing from sight. The young man with pink hair gaped after him. What. Was. That…?

"W-What the hell? Get back here, you bastard!" He hauled himself up, feeling extremely lively all of a sudden, and he growled in irritation. _I can't believe I got a kiss stolen away from me by a guy…! That's gotta be the weirdest and most s—wait._ He paused and then looked down at his arm in shock. It was… not broken? The young monk moved it testily and then he patted his ribs carefully with his hands. "Woah… I'm healed…?" How was that even possible? He had been healed from that person's kiss? But something like this happening… it was unheard of…! His eyes shifted to the direction the boy had disappeared in, growing round in astonishment and curiosity.

_Who is that guy…?_

.:.

He finally arrived at the village gates, staff and hat all in hand. For some reason, they had been close to him when he got up and were placed a bit too neatly together to have fallen there coincidentally. He could only assume that _someone_ had put them there. Maybe… that guy?

"You are…?" A soldier standing at the gate raised an eyebrow at him. The pink-haired monk grinned and saluted the other man in a friendly manner with two fingers.

"Hey there~ I'm from Assiah."

"Oh…!" The soldier smiled and jabbed a thumb towards the village, "We've been expecting you. Hope you find our home to your liking."

"I think I will." He chuckled, thinking back to the mysterious blue-haired person he had seen at the ravine. After asking for directions and thanking the soldier, he entered through the wooden gates and walked steadily through the dusty roads, heading towards the main house. There were quite a few villagers on the streets and he would smile as he passed several groups of girls who were staring shyly at him and giggling to each other. _I think I can __**definitely**__ get to like this place~_ He smirked to himself giddily, noticing that the girls indeed had quite lovely bodies. But their beautiful skin still couldn't match up to that ethereal skin he had seen on the blue-haired boy… speaking of his savior, he was slightly disappointed to see that he was nowhere in sight. He had wanted to thank him (even though it was a bit odd to be healed by a kiss… from another male no less…) and maybe chat with him a bit. Maybe even become friends.

_Oh well… maybe he's inside somewhere… I'll find him eventually~_

He reached the main house, which was a two-story, stone-crafted abode with a fancily carved wooden door on the front, and he rapped on it lightly with his knuckles to announce his arrival. But just as the door opened, he noticed a flash of light blue from the corner of his eyes. The young monk whipped his head in the direction of the color and gasped as he saw his savior slowly making his way through the other villagers, holding a small basket in his arms. _Ah…! It's him…!_ He was about to chase after but a deep voice greeted him cheerily.

"You must be the envoy from Assiah! Welcome!" A large man with a bushy beard chortled and smacked a hand onto his shoulder, "Come in! Come in! Let me show you to your room and I'll take you on a tour of the place. Then, we can discuss the ceremony…! I'm Horden, by the way. One of the chiefs of Gehenna village."

"A-Ah! Right, yes… n-nice to meet you, ha ha~" He laughed nervously. Wow, this guy was pretty huge…! His eyes darted towards the spot he had just seen the mysterious blue-eyed boy but his heart sunk when he found that the boy had disappeared yet again. The large man pulled him into the dark room before he could say another word and then led him up a set of stairs.

"What's your name, kid?" The man climbed up, steps trembling from every motion he made. The monk with pink hair smiled.

"Oh, I'm Shima. Shima Renzou."

"A Shima, eh?" Horden paused and then turned to eye him carefully. Finally, he smirked, "Damn, you guys were a pain in the ass back then." A bead of sweat ran down the pink-haired boy's head.

"Y-Yeah well… I wasn't really in the war, so I wouldn't know… aha ha~"

The man stared at him. Then chuckled, putting a heavy hand onto his head and ruffling his hair a bit too roughly, "You're a lucky one then. It's good that there are still young ones who weren't touched by the war. And now that there's finally peace, perhaps the next generation can forget…"

"Yep." Renzou's eyes grew a little darker and he smiled, "That's what I'm here for." The man smirked back at him and then nodded in the direction of the second floor, continuing up the last of the steps. Horden showed him to his room, which was composed of a simple cot sitting against one wall, and a small dresser for clothes and a wooden table with writing utensils, paper, and an oil lamp against the other wall. There was a small, open window where he could view the village. Renzou grinned out the window, watching the people scurry around with bundles of clothes, baskets, or pots in their arms.

"Hmm, it's nice~" He breathed in the air and sighed. Gehenna had a nice smell to it. Fresh like the trees and rivers that surrounded the village. It was also much more country-like than what he was used to. Assiah had more stones than trees, so it was an interesting change. Although… the downside was he would have to watch out for more insects, wouldn't he… In fact, there was a spider right on the window sill at the moment. Wait… a… s-spider…?

"Pyaaaaa—!" He screamed and leapt back, causing Horden to jump in surprise.

"W-What is it…?" The man grunted and raised an eyebrow at him. Renzou trembled and shook his head frantically, pointing at the spider.

"T-The… t-t-the… window… S-Spi-Spider….! Spider…!"

Horden moved towards the window and flicked the arachnid away with his fingers. "Um… better?" He turned towards the pink-haired boy curiously. Renzou sighed in relief.

"Y-Yeah… thanks…"

"BWUAHAHAHA—!" The bearded man suddenly burst out laughing, "Y-You're a pathetic man, Shima…!"

Renzou grit his teeth together and then hung his head to the side, "I-I just can't stand bugs, that's all…"

"PWUAHAHAHA! Scared of bugs, are you? WAHAHAHA…!"

"Just show me around the village now, will you…?" The pink-haired monk sighed. Horden eyed him, mirth still lingering in his eyes, and then grinned.

"Sure thing, I'll treat you to some of our famous dishes while we're out. What do you say?"

A smile spread across Renzou's lips at the promise of food. "Seriously? All right~" The two retreated out the room and started back down the stairs.

.:.

They were in the market place, which was bustling with the shouts of vendors and the clanging of ladles on pots. Renzou's eyes darted from store to store, eyeing all the vegetables and goods that he knew and all the ones that he also didn't know.

"Wow, you guys have an awesome place."

Horden handed him a stick with roasted meat on it, "Heh, I'm sure Assiah's place is pretty grand, too."

"Sure is~" Renzou took the stick cheerily and raised two fingers to his temple in thanks.

"Little twerp, getting all cocky."

The boy with pink hair laughed, "Well, I am an Assian after all~ Home is always the best… but I do like Gehenna, too." His eyes trailed across the vendors, looking for anything new that would interest him. And then he spotted him. The boy with blue hair was slowly walking down one of the streets, back facing him. _Found him…! _A smile lit up his lips as he watched the boy move across the street. As he continued to observe him, Renzou noticed a tip of something black and furry peeping out from under the boy's robes. _Huh…? What is that….? A… tail? Is that guy a demon?_ Interesting… he knew that demons were quite rare nowadays—he didn't exactly remember why but, if that guy were a demon, it would explain how he had been healed… probably… after all, demons were known to have weird abilities and all that, weren't they? Or wait, were those only for the stronger types? So that guy was a strong demon then? Hmm…

"What're you looking at, Shima?" The bearded man grunted and peered in the same direction as the pink-haired monk. Renzou chewed off a piece of the meat and pointed a finger in the blue-eyed boy's direction.

"That guy." He spoke through a slightly full mouth, "The guy in the blue robe."

"Who…?" Horden raised an eyebrow at the street. Renzou frowned and pointed again.

"That guy over there. He's holdin' a basket and he's got somethin' like a tail sticking out from his clothes…?"

"Hm…" The large man stared at the street, a blank look in his eyes. Then he clamped a hand over the boy's shoulder, "Anyway, why don't I show you some of the other places?"

"Uh? Uh…" Renzou blinked several times, looking from the blue-haired boy to Horden in confusion. He didn't see him…? "O-Okay…?" As he was led away by the older man, Renzou glanced over his shoulder, watching the blue-eyed boy glide through the crowds of people like a ghostly apparition. No one seemed to give him a second glance.

Huh…? Did no one else see him…? No one except him? How strange… he definitely had to find that guy later and try talking to him…

.:.

The children of Gehenna were now all leaving their school, racing each other to get back home. Renzou sighed, slightly relieved to have been able to finally get away from Horden. Now, he could explore the place in more detail; maybe hit on some girls along the way and most of all, find that guy. It was bothering him. Why did it seem like no one saw him? He couldn't be a ghost, right? After all… firstly, he'd never seen a ghost before, so there was really no way he could suddenly see them now… and second, how could a ghost kiss him? Something ran into his leg and he blinked down, noticing that a small girl had accidentally smashed herself into him. Renzou kneeled down and helped her back onto her feet.

"Woah, you okay?" The girl shook her head and then gasped at him.

"No, I'm not! If I don't reach home fast enough, all the mystery presents will be taken away!"

"Presents?" He raised an eyebrow at the girl. The girl nodded vigorously.

"They're really cool! But no one knows where they come from. It's a mystery…!"

Renzou contemplated the new bit of information for a moment. Interesting… it was something to look into. His eyes turned back to the child and he chuckled, opening his arms in an inviting manner.

"I see…! Well then, would you like a little help? Just tell me where your home is and I'll get you there in a snap~" The girl stared at him with her large eyes. Then she smiled.

"Sorry, mister! My mum said I shouldn't randomly go to places with strangers. But thanks! I'll be going now!" And with that she ran off. Renzou froze. Then he laughed weakly, raising an arm up to rub the back of his head. Right… this was Gehenna… no one knew him here. He was too used to the kids back in Assiah all asking him to play with them and such so he just naturally…

"Haha… well… I'll be back home in a few days…" So he had to explore this place as much as he could before returning. Now… what was this about mystery presents? He followed after the children, smiling as they seemed to rush back to their homes with eagerness gleaming in their eyes. Maybe it was the adults? Perhaps it was a tradition for the parents to leave presents for their children after school or something…? That was a cute idea. He would've loved going to and coming back from school if his parents had done that…

As he continued his walk down the street, a yelp of, "Oh wow! Lookie what I got, bro!" from one of the yards caught his ears and Renzou glanced at the boys who were showing each other their gifts. There was a round stone in the young boy's hand and it gleamed a pretty purple and blue under the sunlight.

"I got one, too! Let's add it to the treasure hoard…!" His brother was grinning back and lifting a bright red stone up into the air before rushing into the house. Renzou smiled at the sight. So the presents were something like that, was it? He heard the sound of snickering and he blinked in surprise, not realizing that someone else was nearby. He turned behind him and frowned when he found no one there. The pink-haired monk heard a child laugh cheerily from another house and he heard the snickering begin again.

Huh? So whoever was laughing definitely had to be somewhere close… it kind of sounded like it was coming from… His eyes shifted upwards and he nearly jumped backward when he found the mysterious blue-haired boy sitting cross-legged in the tree looming over him. The boy's bright blue eyes were fixed on the horizon, likely watching the children, and the basket he had been holding from before was sitting beside him, balanced on the thick tree branch. As another child's cry of excitement reached his ears, he watched the blue-eyed boy grin and snicker to himself happily, revealing small and sharp canine teeth. Oh…! So, this guy was the one who was behind the mystery presents, was he~? Renzou smirked and crossed his arms over his chest, giving the blue-haired boy a knowing look.

"Cute. Real cute. You're the one behind all the presents, aren't you?"

The boy's giggles came to a stop and then he blinked in surprise. His blue eyes darted towards him, causing Renzou's breath to catch in his throat for a second, and then he proceeded to stare at him in an owlish manner. After a moment, the boy slowly got to his feet and then scooted across the branch to press his back up against the tree trunk as though attempting to dodge his line of sight. The pink-haired boy chuckled and watched the other boy pointedly.

"Yes, I'm talkin' to you, dude. Don't try to run away." He laughed as the blue-haired boy seemed to flinch in shock and then whip his head back and forth across the tree, as though searching for any other person besides him. Renzou sighed and moved closer to the tree, "Pfft, you're hilarious. What, you think you're invisible or somethin'?"

As soon as he took a step forward, the blue-haired boy seemed to gulp and then flail his arms wildly, looking incredibly confused. "Uwah…!" Renzou heard the boy exclaim and then the next second, the strange boy lost his balance.

"Oh, shit!" The pink-haired monk dashed forward and quickly caught the other boy in his arms. The guy was surprisingly light. "Hey, you alright there? I didn't mean to freak you out that much…" He felt the person's muscles tense in his hold and then the boy's head snapped up, trembling blue eyes locked onto his own light brown ones.

_W-Wow…_ Renzou gasped at the color. It was really quite special… they seemed to twinkle in fairy-like shades of blue but there was also just a speck of feral red deep in the center of his irises… it was especially captivating this close up. Suddenly, the boy tried to wrench himself away. Thankfully, Renzou was able to tighten his grip on him fast enough that the mysterious boy couldn't run off again.

"H-Hey! Stop that…! Hang on a minute, don't run away again," He pleaded, keeping the other boy in his embrace, "I just want to talk to you. You're… interesting." The blue-haired boy seemed to freeze in his grip and then look back up at him curiously. Then, the boy's eyes averted to the side and his cheeks turned pink. Renzou felt his heart speed up a little. This guy was… _cute_!

"Uhh…" He heard the boy murmur softly and he smiled, quite liking the unique voice he had, "S-Sorry… about this morning…" Renzou blinked. Then he grinned. So this guy remembered him…! He chuckled and squeezed the other boy, feeling a strange giddy feeling bubbling in his chest.

"What're you sayin' sorry for? You saved my friggin' ass out there!"

"O-Oh…" He saw the boy's face grow a brighter red, "N-No… no problem… erm… I need… to go…" His blue eyes kept on darting away from him nervously. Renzou frowned slightly. Why was this guy so fidgety…? Then again, it _was_ a bit strange to suddenly be grabbed like this and then kept in one place against his will for so long. But… before he let him go, he had to at least find out more…!

"Wait, just tell me what your name is before you go." The boy seemed to halt again, eyes growing wide. Renzou saw the boy drop his head down, bangs covering over his beautiful eyes, and then his body seemed to shake. The pink-haired boy swallowed. Woah, what? Why was this guy shaking…? Was he scared of him?

"Okumura… Rin…" Renzou suddenly heard the boy croak out in a barely audible voice. The pink-haired boy blinked. Then, a wide grin split across his face. Okumura Rin, was it? Awesome~

"Okumura Rin?" As soon as the boy's name left his lips, Rin's face shot up, eyes wide and looking slightly wet. Renzou felt something akin to a jolt of electricity rush through his body. H-Huh? Why did this guy look like he was about to cry? "O-Oi, are you okay…?"

After a moment of silence, the blue-haired boy let out a small laugh and a nod before sending him a sweet smile. "Yep. Thanks… thanks, erm…?" He was blinking up at him inquiringly in an adorable manner, eyes still wet.

_Oh man, can I take this guy home~? So cuuute!_

He chuckled and grinned back, "I'm Shima Renzou. You can just call me Renzou if you like~"

"Renzou?"

The pink-haired boy felt his heart soar and he nodded, pulling the other boy in a tight hug, "Yep~ Now we're friends, Rin…!"

"F-F-Friends…?"

Renzou nuzzled his face against the other boy's hair, nodding vigorously. "Yep, friends~ So tell me where I can see you again tomorrow, okay? Let's have fun together…! You can show me around the village and stuff and we can hang out." His chest grew warm, already looking forward to spending the day with the other boy and getting to know him better. Like asking him about being a demon and about his healing powers, and talking to him about what he liked to do, where he lived and what kind of family he had… this guy seemed like such a kind person, giving secret gifts to the village children. Where else would he ever find another person just as sweet…? He definitely had to get to know him better…!

He felt a hand push against his chest and he stared at Rin carefully, noticing that the boy's eyes had lowered and were fixed to the floor.

"Renzou, erm… I don't think… we should meet again."

What…?

"W-What…? Why?" The pink-haired boy asked, greatly confused and not understanding the other boy's request at all, "You don't want to hang out with me? Am I scary…? You don't like me?" After all, Rin kept on trembling as though he were frightened. That was odd though… he was probably the least scariest guy ever… after all, it only took one bug to turn him into a sniveling mess… Maybe it was the small scar at his temple that made him kind of scary?

Rin swallowed and shook his head, "N-No… you… just shouldn't… get too close…" His blue eyes darted upwards to his face for a second before jumping back to the ground, "I'm saying this… a-as a… _friend_… so… just forget you ever saw me." The boy pushed away Renzou's arms, which had loosened as he spoke, and then he pulled back, hand clutching over his chest tightly.

"Rin…?" Renzou heard his voice barely leave his throat. His arms were still open, in the position of being pushed away.

Rin gave him a melancholic smile. Then, after another second, the blue-eyed boy promptly turned, sprinting off into one of the foreign streets, tail whipping behind him.

_Rin…?_

.:.

Renzou was lying in his cot, hands folded behind his head and eyes fixed to the wooden ceiling.

_I don't get it… I don't get it at all…_

His eyes were scrunched together, still picturing the blue-eyed boy's last smile before running away from him again. He growled and turned on his side, eyeing the stars twinkling from the ink-black sky through his window. He had let Rin run away from him again. The first time was okay because he was still out of it. But this second time, he had the boy right there in his arms. And then, he just let him go so easily. Now there wasn't even the guarantee that he could see him again.

_But… but he lives here, right? So as long as I ask around, someone should know, right…?_

The pink-haired monk sighed and turned again, fixing his eyes on the wall of his room. Tomorrow he'd look for him again. There was just something odd about the guy… he couldn't just leave him be. That sad smile, the unshed tears in his eyes when his name had been mentioned, and the fact that no one seemed to notice him… there was something really really weird about that.

A thud from a room underneath him startled him and he blinked several times. After another second, another thud echoed from the walls and the noise continued at a steady pace. He raised an eyebrow at the irksome sounds.

_What in the world…? Great… now how am I supposed to sleep?_ Renzou sighed and threw his pillow over his head. Well… he had to try. He had the feeling he would be going on a wild goose chase the next day and he needed energy for that. _Good night, Gehenna._ He mused to himself, thinking of how tonight would be his first night in this village. His thoughts drifted to the blue-eyed boy who was still a huge mystery to him and after remembering the boy's embarrassed expression, Renzou chuckled gently.

_Night, Rin… wherever you are~_

.:.

The market place seemed to always be bustling, but especially so since it was now noon time. He still had the rest of the afternoon before he had to return to the main house to make preparations for the signing ceremony. Purification and what not; weird ritualistic stuff that he really had no interest in doing. As for now, Renzou was spending his free time gorging himself on some of the vendor food on the side of the road, while keeping his eyes out for Rin. So far, he had no luck. Maybe the blue-haired boy was pointedly keeping himself out of sight…?

"Yeah, so… you sure you haven't seen him?" The pink-haired boy waved a stick of sautéed vegetables around nonchalantly. The man behind the vendor let out a weak laugh, eyes darting to and fro, and he shook his head quickly.

"Sorry, no… I-I've… never seen anyone like that here…"

Renzou stared at the man suspiciously. "I see…" He sighed and then smiled, "Thanks though. This is really good, by the way." The man grinned proudly, albeit a bead of cold sweat was running down the side of his cheek.

"Glad to be of service. G-Good luck… finding that guy."

"Yeah~ Thanks…!" Renzou grinned and waved at him. As he turned away, his eyes narrowed. There was definitely something going on here that was odd… the people that he met had all said that they had never seen or didn't know who Rin was. A few of the people had acted all nervous like the way that vendor had to his questions. However, most of the people he had asked looked calm which either meant they were super good at lying or they really had no idea. But how could they have no idea? Wasn't it only yesterday that Rin was walking around amongst all of them in the streets? Was Rin really that forgettable that no one could remember him? That wasn't a very likely possibility to him… what with that otherworldly skin, beautiful eyes, and adorable, sweet demeanor… How could anyone forget someone like that? So that meant people were lying? What for?

The young monk gripped his pink hair in annoyance. "Urgh… I don't know what to think…" He heard the sound of children laughing and his eyes lit up. Oh…! He hadn't tried asking the kids yet…! At least they would tell the truth, even if they didn't know. Renzou smiled and walked until he was in front of a house where a group of children were gathered in the front yard. He leaned against the wooden gates of the yard and grinned in a friendly fashion.

"Hey there~" The kids paused and then turned to him with round and curious eyes, "Mind helpin' me for a sec?"

"With what…?" A boy with his hair tied into a small tail at the end of his nape asked suspiciously.

"Who're you?" One of the girls, who had two pigtails bouncing on the sides of her head, giggled into her hands. Another boy, who had shortly cropped hair, blinked.

"Aren't you that guy from Assiah?"

Renzou winked, "Yep~ That's me. Anyway, I just need some questions answered. I don't really know this place too well, ya know. So I was thinkin' I should ask the ones who knew more, yeah?"

The children's eyes lit up. "Oh! So you need like a tour guide or something?"

"Do we get anything if we answer your questions?"

The pink-haired monk chuckled, "Sure, I'll uh…" He reached into the folds of his clothes, glad that he had bought a stash of candy from one of the vendors. He was planning on bringing it back to Assiah to share but… well, he could get more later. "You can have these if you answer all my questions!" The young man smirked when he caught the longing looks in the children's faces and he put the bag of candy away again. "Only when you answer my questions~"

The boy with a tail at his nape pouted and crossed his arms over his chest, "Well? Hurry up and ask them then!"

Renzou laughed and then nodded, "Okay, first question: have any of you ever seen a guy with dark blue hair and really pretty blue eyes? He's a little shorter than me and he's got pointy ears. I think he might have a tail, too. Oh, and two sharp teeth over here, like this." He lifted his fingers to his mouth to demonstrate. After receiving a few blank stares, the children suddenly smiled.

"Yep! I've seen him."

The girl raised her hand up eagerly, "Me, too! Me, too!"

"I know who he is, too…"

Renzou froze. Wow… they all saw him before? So the adults really _were_ lying… how could these kids all see him and no one else see him? The boy with a pigtail tapped his foot impatiently.

"Is that all?"

"Oh! No, um…" Renzou licked his lips, feeling his throat slowly growing dry. Something weird was going on here… "Where do you guys usually see him? Have you ever talked to him?"

The girl shook her head. "Mum tells me not to ever talk to him or to look at him."

The boy with short hair smiled, "Oh, my mum told me that, too. But I still see him around. He's always everywhere."

"So… would you know where I might be able to find him?" Renzou asked slowly, heart thumping in his chest heavily. Why were the adults of the village so intent on keeping Rin away from their children? Even Rin told him that he shouldn't be too close to him and to forget him… but no matter how he looked at him, he was a good guy. There was really no reason for all this isolation…

"No…" The two children shook their heads. Renzou turned to the last child, the boy with his hair tied back. The boy was staring down at his feet, fists clenched. The pink-haired monk recognized that look. He **knew**. Renzou eyed the boy carefully and then smiled.

"Okay, one last thing, I'm gonna need one person to come take me around the place. But they won't get candy until after I've shown them around."

"Ehhh…" The girl and boy with short hair whined, "But we answered your questions…!"

"Hmm~ But not _everyone_ answered my questions, did they?" He winked.

The girl blinked and then pointed at the boy with a pigtail, "Ah! That's right! Roy didn't answer the last questions Mr. Assiah had. Shouldn't he go then?"

"H-Huh?" The boy named Roy answered back in surprise. Renzou smirked. _Bingo~_ He handed each of the other children a handful of candy.

"That sounds fair. Alright then, you'll be showin' me around. I'm countin' on ya!" He winked at the boy who seemed to flush red in either anger or embarrassment. Then, his head bowed over in resignation.

"Okay…"

Renzou waved at the excited children and then pointed in one direction, "Right then, let's go to the market place first." The boy nodded silently and then began trampling down one of the streets slowly, back turned to him. Renzou followed after silently, keeping a careful eye on the boy. Right… so now he had to figure out how to get this guy to spill the beans. Hmm…

But it seemed like he didn't need to. Because as soon as they turned a corner into an alley, the boy spun towards him all of a sudden, fisting his fingers into his black robes. Renzou nearly fell backward in surprise. W-Woah! What the…?

"You…" The boy began in a low voice, "Why're you… looking for him?"

"W-Why? Well…" Renzou gulped and scratched at his cheek. Oh god, this was getting kind of creepy…! "I want to know him better… he seems like a good guy, so… is that bad?"

"It IS bad…!" The boy almost shouted, fist clenching tighter into his clothes, "It is bad…" Renzou heard the boy sniffle and he felt his heart jump in alarm. What the heck…? He bent down and pat the boy on the head carefully.

"H-Hey… you alright there…?" His eyebrows were drawn together in worry as he watched the boy wipe his tears away furiously with the back of one hand.

"Are you… one of the bad guys?" The boy glared up at him. Renzou blinked in shock. Bad guys…?

"Erm… I hope not?" He laughed back nervously. That answer seemed to satisfy the boy and his shoulders sagged.

"If you're not a bad guy, you're not going to take him somewhere and do bad things to him, right…?"

"What? Bad things? To who…? Rin?" Renzou blinked rapidly, feeling his mind grow more and more lost. Roy smiled softly.

"I-Is that his name…? Rin?"

Renzou stared at the boy carefully, "You know where he is but you never knew his name…?" The boy gulped and then shook his head slowly.

"I…" His voice lowered to a whisper and Renzou had to lean forward to hear, "I… only followed him that one time… never talked to him… and then I saw them… doing the bad things…" His eyes began to fill with water, "I… just wanted to know who was getting us presents all the time… so… but then… they… _**hurt**_ me… and then told me to never tell anyone… to forget everything… but… there's no way I can forget _**that**_…!" He buried his face into Renzou's shoulder, smacking a trembling fist against the older male's chest as ferociously as his little body could do. The pink-haired monk's eyes grew round. What… the hell…? He was definitely talking about Rin but… what was this about bad things being done to him? What was he talking about? And then this boy was 'hurt' for finding out? Roy continued through reluctant sniffs, "I… it hurt so much… but then… he… he h-healed me… he's like an angel but… why do they keep doing those things to him…? It's not normal, right? It's not normal… you don't do that to angels…" His whispers trailed off. Renzou frowned and grabbed the boy by the shoulders, shaking him lightly.

"Oi…! Oi, kid…! Get yourself together!" The boy's eyes seemed to flicker towards his, slightly wide in fear as if realizing all that he had suddenly said. His arms raised up to block his face.

"D-Don't tell anyone I said all that…! Please… I don't want to be hurt again…!"

Renzou swallowed. Then he smiled reassuringly, "Of course I won't. I'm Rin's friend so there's no way I'd sell out someone who cares about him, yeah?" He squeezed the boy's shoulder comfortingly and Roy looked up at him, tears streaming down his eyes.

"Y-Yeah…" After a second, he sniffed and asked softly, "Mr. Assiah? You're gonna… save R-Rin… right?"

Renzou froze. Then his eyes narrowed and he smirked, a bead of cold sweat running down his neck. "Yeah… I don't know what's goin' on but… I'll save him if you think I need to."

Roy nodded and then tugged on his shirt. "I-I'll tell you… where he is so… come closer…" Renzou nodded and leaned over, ear turned to him.

"He lives… **where you live**."

Renzou felt a shiver crawl up his spine and he jumped back. "H-Huh? You mean… the main house?" Roy nodded. The pink-haired monk shook his head. "But… I haven't seen him there at all…?"

"C-Check… the basement." The boy gulped and then sighed, heaving out a great sigh as though he had just relieved a great burden. Renzou gave the boy a weak smile.

"Thanks… you really helped me, ya know? And don't worry. I'll take care of Rin for you, alright? I won't let any bad guys do bad things to him." He pat the boy on the head and pulled out the bag of candy, about to push it all into the boy's hands, "Here, take this. Oh but…" He paused, "Hmm, if people might suspect you… I guess I'll just give you a handful then. I don't want anyone to hurt you…" Roy smiled through his tears and nodded happily, taking his handful of candy.

"P-Please save Rin… and… t-thanks, Mr. Assiah. B-Be… be careful." And with that, the boy darted off, hastily wiping his eyes and returning in the direction they came from. Renzou remained glued to his spot, the words of the boy echoing in his mind. He ran a hand through his hair and he laughed dryly. What was he getting himself into…? But… it seemed like something bad was happening to Rin…

"Only one way to find out…" He climbed to his feet and pat his knees of dust. Then, he left out the alley, slowly making his way back to the main house. _I'll just have to find Rin…!_

.:.


	2. Chapter 2

.:.

The stone house was eerily calm and quiet under the glaring light of the sun. Renzou gulped. So… if Roy was telling the truth… Rin was right here all along…?

_The basement, he said… check the basement._ Renzou repeated in his mind, eyebrows furrowing together as he entered the house and searched for a way into anything like a basement. He walked into all the rooms, frowning when he found nothing that could lead down into a basement. The pink-haired boy returned to the entrance, leaning his back against the staircase.

"Where the heck could it be…?" He murmured to himself. His eyes darted around the room, glad that no one was around to see how much he looked like a spy at the moment. He stared at the floor. Maybe… there was a secret door he could lift open from the ground? But no… there was nothing like that, even under the carpets that he lifted. Hmm… wasn't there anywhere else… like…? His eyes shifted to the staircase, wishing that another one would just be underneath. Wait…? His feet slowly took him closer to the staircase and he eyed the wooden wall underneath the staircase carefully. Lifting a hand up, he softly rapped against the wall. An echoing thud returned and his eyes grew round. Hollow…

_I-It has to be here…!_ He shuffled around the staircase, searching for any method of getting the wall to open. He tried pushing and pulling; none of it worked. Renzou sighed and smacked his head against the wall. Dammit… he was close…! But… how to get this thing open…? He slid his hand across it and suddenly the door moved slightly.

_H-Huh…?_

He slid his hand against it again, moving the wooden wall so that it went in a left to right direction instead of an in and out direction. Slowly, the wall opened, revealing another set of steps leading down and down into what seemed to be a much darker place. A faint stench was also wafting upwards and Renzou covered his nose, grimacing at the musty smell.

_What… in the world…?_

He glanced over his shoulder, carefully checking the area. Then, he entered through the door, slowly shoving it closed again to avoid detection. _Well… here goes…!_ He clamped a sleeve over his nose, wanting to smell as little of the stench as possible, and then began climbing down the steps, moving towards the faint light at the bottom of the stone steps. His soft pattering of his sandals was all he could hear as he went down and when he reached the final step, he found Rin in the middle of the stone cellar, lying on his stomach in a heap of his clothes with eyes serenely closed.

"R-Rin…!" He gasped and rushed forward, eyes wide in shock. He really _was_ down here…! How did he not realize? He kneeled down beside the blue-haired boy, checking his bones carefully and rolling him gently over when he deemed it safe to do so. He immediately noticed that his clothes had been torn apart and they were barely on his body. In fact, it was like he wasn't wearing them; more like wrapped in them. Renzou's eyes darted across Rin's exposed torso, checking for any bruises or cuts or anything that showed evidence that he had been harmed. But his skin was just as perfect and unmarred as when he had first seen him. The pink-haired monk sighed in relief. Good, it looked like he wasn't hurt… Now that he was feeling vaguely better about Rin's safety, his eyes shifted towards the room, staring at the stone walls and finding a sliver of light filtering through what seemed like a window near the top of one of the walls. There were splatters of red in some places on the ground and Renzou narrowed his eyes at it. Was that blood…? It seemed old…

"Nn…" He heard Rin stir from his sleep and Renzou's attention immediately returned to the boy.

"Rin…!"

At the call of his name, the boy's eyes suddenly shot open. His blue eyes jumped towards him and then he swallowed, whispering a hoarse, "R-Renzou… what are you… doing _**here**_?" The boy's eyes were wavering erratically and the pink-haired monk felt his heart constrict at the look. What was wrong? Why did he look so afraid…?

"I'm here, Rin. Someone wanted me to save you. I don't really know what's goin' on here but… I'm getting you out of this place." He reached forward and began to pull Rin up by his arm, wanting to quickly get him away from this dungeon-like cell. But Rin yelped and pulled away.

"N-No…!" From his movements, the robes fell from his pale shoulders and he hastily pulled them back around himself, shivering violently, "Y-You have to go back…! Forget you ever came here, Renzou! A-And don't tell _anyone_ about me… don't _talk_ to anyone about me…! Or else… or else…" Tears began to form in his blue eyes, causing them to look somehow even more enchanting than when they weren't wet, "… or else… t-they'll get you, too… I don't… want that…!" His voice choked in his throat and he tucked his head down into his arms. Renzou grit his teeth together. As if he could leave him alone like this…! He slowly moved closer, carefully and gently so as not to frighten him.

"Hey…" He called in a soft tone, "Hey…" The boy with pink hair moved a hand to Rin's face, lifting it slowly and caressing a thumb over one cheek, wiping away one stray tear that had fallen. He smiled and leaned down so that his forehead was pressed against the other boy's forehead. Their eyes were locked on each other, light chestnut boring into bright cobalt blue.

"I'm not leavin' you here, Rin…"

Rin was staring back into him, eyes dancing wildly across his face. Then, the boy clenched his eyes shut and grit his teeth, letting out a small sob. "Kgh…!" Renzou grinned and then lifted the boy up carefully, who slowly got up to his feet with the pink-haired boy's help. But just as he stood up, a strange and thick white liquid trickled down one of the boy's legs slowly. Renzou's eyes immediately locked onto the substance, eyes growing wider and wider as the trail of cloudy white dripped closer and closer to Rin's knees. Was that…? Was _that_…? That stench, the clothes, the position Rin had been in on the ground, the '_bad things_'… suddenly, it all fit together.

Rin blinked up at him curiously, eyes still wet from his tears, "Renzou…?"

His eyes were narrowed in disgust; he almost couldn't see anything anymore, thoroughly angered by the thought of something… something like _**that**_ being done to Rin. And right down here, under the place where he had been sleeping…? Rin trembled in his arms. "R-Renzou…?" His grip on the blue-eyed boy's arms tightened. It was those thuds last night, wasn't it? This had been happening while he was awake even…! And… he didn't even do anything to stop it… he had _no __**fucking**__ idea_…

"Rin… who is doing this to you…?" He growled out in a low voice, feeling a fury he had never felt before hit his stomach in raging waves, "Why aren't you tellin' anybody about this? Why haven't you run away yet?" Rin's eyes widened. Then, they turned cold and he smiled mirthlessly.

"Because… I know that… they need me."

"Bullshit!" Renzou spat out and grabbed the boy harder by the arms, shaking him, "You're lyin' to yourself! That's not it at all…! They… they don't need you… w-what kind of person would do _**this**_… would do this to _you_? And then leave you here… like _**this**_…? How could they need you…?" He grit his teeth together and pulled the boy against his chest, wanting to smother him from every horrible thing that had happened to him while he had been in this cellar. How long had this gone on? How many times had he been…? He felt his eyes prickle and Renzou cringed, not wanting to but unable to hold back the angry tears from gathering in his eyes. "D-Damn it, Rin… why haven't you left yet? You've got legs! You can leave the village, I saw you out there…! W-Why…? _Why_…?"

"B-But…" Rin gulped, voice slightly muffled against his shoulder, "Where… would I go?"

"Idiot, **anywhere**!" Renzou squeezed the blue-haired boy tighter, wanting to get all of his feelings of frustration through to him, "_Anywhere's_ better than here…!"

"You're w-wrong…" Rin stuttered, body trembling against him, "What place… would want to accept a monster like me?"

Monster…?

"What the hell're you sayin', Rin?" Renzou pulled the boy away, holding him at arm's length and staring wildly into the other boy's eyes. Monster? How was this guy in any way a monster?

"But… b-but… there must be something wrong with me… b-because… because…" Fresh tears were starting to pool in those blue eyes again, "Even after all the things they do to me… even when I feel so much _**pain**_… there's… nothing is ever left behind…" He sniffled and clenched his eyes shut, "Even though I dig my nails into their skin… and I try so hard to rip their skin out… it all just goes away when they… they…"

Renzou stared at the boy with round eyes. _Oh, Rin…_

"When… When I screamed, they… once cut my tongue out…" The boy grimaced at the memory and turned his head to the floor in shame, "But… it just healed back together afterward… How is that even possible? I even… s-saw it… on the ground… but it came back? In just one night? W-What kind of person can do that? I-I'm… a freak! No place would want to keep a monster like me…!"

Renzou shook his head, tears running down his cheeks. This… little idiot…! He choked out a laugh and Rin stared back at him as if he had grown another head. Then the boy clenched his fists together and beat them against his chest.

"W-Why're you laughing? I'm a monster…! I-I'm _disgusting_! How can you be laughing at this? Y-You should be running away and staying far away from me!"

Renzou choked out another laugh, barely able to see the other boy through his tears. "Rin…" He let out a weak chuckle and gently pulled the blue-haired boy into his arms again, "You idiot. You're not even _close_ to bein' a monster… and don't _**say **_that. You're not disgusting at all… you know what we call people like you?"

After a moment of silence where Rin swallowed against his throat, he finally let out a quiet and hoarse, "W-What…?"

Renzou grinned and pressed a small kiss to the boy's blue hair.

"You're an **angel**…" He chuckled as he felt Rin stiffen in surprise. He sighed into the boy's ear, "There's no way you'll _ever_ be a monster. So… stop bein' afraid of goin' someplace new, alright? I'm sure _everyone_ would want you in their village… hell, I totally want you to come to Assiah…"

"… y-yeah?"

"Yeah~" He chuckled and gave the boy another squeeze. "Now… let's get you out of here." There was a quiet pause where they were silent. Then, he felt Rin's small nod against his shoulder and he felt something warm and oddly fuzzy spread through his chest. Good. It looked like Rin had the will to leave now. All he had to do… was make sure they both could leave without being caught. After all… if Rin was down here, he could only assume that the culprit behind all this was… Horden. Or one of the chiefs… maybe even all of them, the sick bastards… He jostled the blue-haired boy a little and then smiled triumphantly. If everything went smoothly, there could be a way to get the blue-eyed boy out and also ensure that no one blamed him for it (after all, if they found out the envoy from Assiah stole Gehenna's secret sex toy and miracle healer, it might possibly start a whole other war… who knows?).

"Hey, Rin… want to hear this idea I got?"

.:.

Night was quickly falling across the village. Already, the faint outline of the moon could be seen in the orange sky as the sun sunk lower and lower into the horizon. Renzou finished tying on his robes again and then sighed, feeling his skin refreshed after the first ritual of purifying his body with holy water. He reached for his staff, which was resting against the wall of his room, and then smacked it against the ground once, eyes narrowing.

"Alright, let's do this." He smirked. As he left the room and approached the staircase, he could hear the voices of Horden and the other chiefs speaking to each other.

"Have you seen him?"

"No, it seems he hasn't returned yet…"

"Odd. Highly irregular… he couldn't have finally run away, could he?"

"I-I told you! We should've kept him restricted down there! We never should've allowed him to go anywhere…! If another village gets a hold of him, think of how they might—!"

"Calm down, Seren. And lower your voice, the Shima boy is still upstairs," Renzou frowned, recognizing Horden's voice, "In any case, he would never think of running away by himself. Someone… must have taken him away."

"… Shima!" The pink-haired boy's heart jumped. A cold smile curled up the corners of his lips. Of course they would suspect him immediately… but that's why he had to step carefully around this and convince them that it wasn't him…

"Let's… not jump to conclusions… after all, the Shima boy is still here," Horden spoke again, "We need to do an investigation. Interrogate all the villagers."

Renzou grinned. Alright~ So he still had some sort of alibi for now but… He frowned. An interrogation? Hmm… His eyes widened. Wait then… Roy might be in trouble…? After all, if they ask the children, they'll definitely talk about how Roy had been his tour guide for a while. And if that wasn't suspicious—especially when they knew that Roy found out the truth once—then they had to be either be extremely forgetful or just plain dumb in the head. Shit. He had to get Roy out of here somehow, too… who knows what might happen if they began to find out what had happened…

He started down the steps and put on his usual smile, "Hey, guys~ I heard someone mention my name? What're you talkin' about? An investigation on the villagers?" The chiefs paused and then stared at him carefully, some with icy looks, others with nervous and fidgety ones. Renzou stared back, giving them a confused look. Inwardly, he tightly held back on the desire to smash them all in the faces with his staff. _Damn bastards, the whole lot of 'em… just standing there and lookin' so accusingly at me when __**you're**__ the ones doin' those fucking things to Rin…!_

Horden smirked.

"Oh, Shima. You're finished are you? We were just talking about a missing villager… in fact, I believe you saw him yesterday… in the market place…? You asked me about him although at that time, I hadn't seen him…"

Renzou pretended to blink, "Oh? Oh yeah! That guy, haha~" He laughed and raised a hand up to rub the back of his head sheepishly, "Actually, I decided to do some lookin' around today for him. I thought he looked kinda interesting and since you didn't seem to see him yesterday, I was kinda curious."

Horden raised an eyebrow, "Oh? Is that so…? Did you find him?"

The pink-haired monk sighed and leaned on his staff, making himself look slightly discouraged, "Nah… everyone I asked said that they hadn't seen him." He glanced up at them with a curious look in his eyes, "Wait, so… you're sayin' that guy's missin'?"

"… yes." The chiefs were all boring their eyes into him, looking slightly wary yet at the same time, a bit confused. Renzou smirked inwardly. _Alright~ I'm so glad that I'm so good at lyin'…!_

On the outside, he let out a small laugh, "No wonder I couldn't find him then, huh… hmm… need help findin' him? I think I remember what he looks like, so if we're gonna have a search party, I can help… I think."

"No… no, these are matters concerning our village only…" Horden smiled with a shake of his head, "You have more important things to do. Let's head over to the center."

"Oh… alright, if you say so." Renzou shrugged and then followed Horden out of the house. He nodded to the other chiefs, "Uhh, good luck finding him then… I hope nothin' bad happens to him… ha ha…"

The chiefs nodded back at him, "Thank you, we also hope that we are able to find him soon…"

Renzou grinned and saluted them with his fingers. Then, he turned away, walking after Horden steadily. The pink-haired monk scowled to himself.

_Heh, as if that's gonna happen. I'll __**never**__ let you guys touch him ever again._

Horden led him into a large circular clearing that looked almost like a small arena. Around the perimeter were torches set up to light the area and in the center, a stone table sat grandly along with a large sheet of parchment and a quill pen on top. Renzou smiled. This was it…! Right… then after signing this, he'd have to go back to his room, then maybe sneak out at night to find Roy, take him to Rin, and then return so that he could depart the next morning without any problems. Y-Yeah… this… could work out. As long as they didn't put surveillance on him or something…

Horden sat down on one side of the table while Renzou sat down on the other. The pink-haired monk set his staff down carefully and then eyed the parchment with the precious treaty written across it. Horden picked up the pen first. As he finished scratching his name across the bottom and began passing the pen towards Renzou, the man spoke in a low voice,

"What are you planning, Shima?"

Renzou flinched and then gulped. Shit, what the hell? Did Horden find out…? But… h-how? He laughed and reached for the pen, attempting to take it from the larger man's fingers.

"What am I plannin'? I'm, erm… plannin' to sign the treaty…?"

He pulled on the pen but the bearded man didn't release his hold.

"Don't give me that bullshit, Shima. I know you have a hand in this…"

Renzou frowned. "Hey, I have no idea what you're talkin' abo—"

"You took him. You found him today and now you've put him somewhere."

The pink-haired monk growled in irritation, still trying to hold up his act. "I already told you, if you're talkin' about that guy I was lookin' for today, everyone I asked said they haven't seen him! How the hell could I have possibly taken him or put him anywhere if I couldn't even find him?"

Horden smirked at him. "No. I know you Shima's. If there's something you're after, nothing can stop you from pursuing it. You found him."

Renzou grit his teeth together. Shit. This guy had _that_ much confidence in his intuition, huh… Now what? Run for it? Continue bluffing? The man released his hold on the pen and he folded his arms across his chest. He leaned back and then smirked.

"I want in on it."

The pen nearly fell from his fingers.

"W-What…?"

Horden's eyes drilled into his own. "I said, I want in on it. Let me help."

Renzou watched the other man with round eyes. What… the hell…? Was this a trap?

The bearded man frowned at him and then a scowl drew across his lips, "If you don't let me help, I'll fucking tell the other chiefs **right now** that you're behind all this."

Renzou gulped. "O-Okay, okay! Let's not get all hasty here… ha ha…" He could feel cold sweat beading on his brow. What should he do? What should he say…? Horden… wanted to help Rin escape? But… wasn't he part of the people who had…? His eyes narrowed, "How the hell can I trust you? Aren't you the same as those guys? You hurt Rin, didn't you?"

Horden froze. Then, his eyes fell to the ground in shame. "… yes. Yes, I'm just like them… but," His eyes flashed up towards him in frustration, "Dammit, Shima. You don't have any other choice but to trust me right now. It's either you let me help or I'll have you killed."

A bead of sweat ran down Renzou's head. "W-Wha… you're not making any sense…"

"Just tell me what I can do already, brat!"

The boy with pink hair paused. Then, his eyes grew hard. "Alright… I'll let you help. But, I'm not tellin' you where Rin is."

"…" Horden nodded, "…I understand."

Renzou stared at him with narrowed eyes for a few seconds. Then, he wet his lips to speak, "There's a boy named Roy…" Horden's eyes grew wide. Then, they closed and the man groaned as he brought his fingers up to rub his eyes.

"Oh, Roy…" He murmured under his breath. The man sat up straighter and then nodded towards Renzou, "I've got an idea of what happened now. Hurry and sign that thing. I'll take care of Roy after. You head back to the main house and stay there until morning. Got it?"

The pink-haired monk scowled, "Hell no. How do I know you're not plannin' to capture me there and then torture me until I tell you where Rin is? Or if you're gonna use Roy as a hostage or somethin'? I'm comin' with you to take Roy… then, I'll be leavin' this fuckin' place tonight. If you wanna help, don't do anythin' to stop me."

Horden blinked at him once. Then, he guffawed. "A-Alright, have it your way…! Hah! But if you leave tonight, they'll think that you're definitely the culprit. And that will put Gehenna and Assiah relations in a tight spot…"

Renzou clenched his teeth together. He had a point. That was the whole reason for staying behind… to secure the treaty. Horden smacked the table and his eyes jumped towards him.

"Okay. You can come with me to Roy's place. I'll prove that I'll take care of him. Then, you go back and stay in the house until morning. What do you say?" The pink-haired boy inspected the other man's face for a moment. Should he trust him? Well… he could go with him to make sure Roy would be alright, then decide from there. Besides…

"Okay…" Renzou agreed reluctantly, "But you know… if you try anythin' funny, I'll be puttin' up the worst fight you've ever encountered, ya got that?" Horden blinked at him several times. Then, a wide grin spread across his mouth and he chortled.

"Oi, don't tempt me into doing just that, will you, Shima? Pwuahaha!"

Renzou smirked at the bearded man's reaction. _Heh. Weird old man…_ He finished signing off the end of the paper and after inking the large seal over their signatures, the two males stood up to shake their hands.

"Let's go."

"Yeah."

The two immediately began heading for the house Roy resided in. Renzou bit the bottom of his lip anxiously, hoping that the interrogators hadn't reached the young boy's home yet. They found the group of soldiers, who were in charge of asking around, already knocking on the doors of several houses. Horden walked towards one of them.

"How goes the search?"

The soldier stood at attention and shook his head, "Sir, some villagers have reported seeing him around the perimeter of the village. But no one was seen with him, sir."

Another soldier nodded and saluted Horden, "Many of the villagers said that the envoy from Assiah was asking for him, sir!" The soldier sent a stony glare in Renzou's direction. But the pink-haired monk merely sent a friendly smile and wave back.

One of the soldiers, whom Renzou recognized as the one he had met when he had entered the gates the day before, shot his own glare towards the second soldier, "Yes, sir, but all the villagers that he asked told us they hadn't given away any information on his whereabouts." The two soldiers growled at each other and Renzou's eyes grew wet, touched by the unexpected comrade he had made among the soldiers. _T-Thanks, dude!_

Horden nodded to them, "Good work. Keep it up. We must get to the bottom of this as soon as possible."

"Yes, sir!"

Renzou followed the bearded man down the set of houses and the same routine continued, asking the soldiers about the investigation. Most of the answers came back in the same fashion as the first answers they had received. But then there was a shout, "Sir! This child was seen talking to the envoy of Assiah! The other children said that he had taken the envoy somewhere!" The man was dragging a familiar boy behind him by his wrist while the boy thrashed with all his might, trying to escape from the hold. Renzou gasped. _Shit, Roy…!_ His parents stood at the door of their house, eyes round with fright and hands clasped tightly together.

Horden's eyes narrowed. "Good work, soldier. Bring him here." The soldier nodded and forcefully pulled the boy towards them. Renzou could hear Roy crying, "No! No! I-I didn't say anything! I didn't tell him anything! Let me go! Don't take me there!" Their eyes crossed and the boy gasped, reaching a hand out to him, "M-Mr. Assiah! Tell them! I didn't say anything, right? I-I didn't!"

Renzou's heart clenched and he quickly moved forward, "H-Hey, dude. Let go of that kid, he didn't do anythin' wrong, alright? I just asked him for some directions so—"

The soldier gave him an icy glare, "I don't take orders from Assiah."

Renzou grit his teeth together. _Damn it…!_

Horden pushed him aside and nodded to the soldier. The man held Roy down to the ground and then Horden leaned down.

"Roy…" The boy froze at the mention of his name and began shaking violently, "Is it true you only gave the envoy from Assiah directions?"

Tears pooled at the boy's eyes. He sniffled and then gave him a nod, "Y-Yes."

"What _kind_ of directions…?"

Renzou frowned at the manner in which this was being taken care of. This was getting risky… His grip on his staff tightened. If there was gonna be a fight, then bring it on… he would take them on at any cost.

"I-I told him how to… g-get to the m-m-market p-place…! A-Ask J-Julia and Tommy…! T-They saw me t-take him…" His eyes clenched together and turned his face away, as though expecting to be hit at any moment. Renzou grinned inwardly and cheered the boy on. _Alright~ Nice goin', Roy! You're doin' great!_

"Brat, are you telling the truth?" The soldier spat out as he ground down his knee into the boy's back. Renzou's eyes widened at the sight. What the hell? This guy—!

"**Oi**. Did I _tell_ you to hurt him?" Horden growled low in his throat. The soldier gulped and then pulled back.

"N-No, sir."

"Good. Now Roy, are you telling the truth?"

Roy looked up at the man with terror-struck eyes. Then, they darted towards Renzou, who gave him a confident nod and a smile. _You can do it, kid! He's on our side…! I hope…_

"Y-Yes!"

Horden stared at the boy for a moment. Then, he let out a sigh and waved to the soldier, "Alright. Let him go. There's no way he would lie to us after being put through _that_. Isn't that right, soldier?"

The man stiffened and nodded, releasing Roy from his grip. "Y-Yes, sir. No one would lie after going through… that." The boy ran as fast as he could back to his home, crying fat tears from his eyes. Renzou smiled as his parents reached out for him, pulling him into a tight hug, relief pooling in their eyes. Horden glanced at the surrounding houses.

"Anything new, soldier?"

"Negative, sir!" One of the men saluted from the last house, "All the villagers here say they haven't seen him or they were asked by the envoy of Assiah. But none of them spoke to him about anything."

Renzou grinned at Horden, "Told ya~"

The soldiers stared at the two men and the large, bearded man frowned. "Yes, I suppose we can be less suspicious of you now…" Horden turned to the men stationed in front of the last several houses and spoke in an authoritative voice, "Alright, good work men. Turn in for the night and wait for further orders. We will find him at any cost!"

"Yes, sir!"

Horden smiled and then began leading Renzou back towards the main house. The pink-haired boy walked step-by-step beside the older man, giving him a look that consisted of a raised eyebrow. When they were further away from the main part of the village, a grin spread across Horden's face and he guffawed.

"Hah, this reminds me of your father, the bastard."

A smirk rose up Renzou's lips, "Yeah~?"

"Had a good mind there; we were tricked so badly during one of the battles…"

"Hey, hey. '_Has_'." The pink-haired monk corrected, "He ain't dead yet, ya know."

"He isn't, eh?" Horden sent Renzou an amused look, "Good." They continued walking in silence and the boy with pink hair kept his gaze on the bearded man. He still wasn't sure if he could trust him. After all, he could just be gaining his trust only to trick him later on… but so far it seemed safe. Besides, if Horden wasn't going to help, he would've captured him by now and had him tortured until he told them where Rin was.

As if he'd ever say anything though…

Hmm… wait, maybe Horden knew that (maybe he was thinking something like, "A Shima would never give up when it comes to something they've decided on doing!" or whatever other stupid Shima-excuse he had in his mind…) so he was going to have someone follow him to Rin's hiding place the next morning? Renzou's eyes narrowed. Actually… that seemed very likely… he'd have to keep an eye out for followers before picking up Rin the next day.

"You're not going to ask why I want to help?" The man's voice suddenly broke the silence. Renzou jumped in surprise.

"H-Huh?"

Horden was staring down at the ground, slightly off to the side as if trying to hide his face. The pink-haired monk raised an eyebrow at him.

"Well… sure, if you want to talk about it, I guess… not that it's gonna make me trust you, ya know." _I'll only trust you when both Rin and I can leave this place safely and get back to Assiah without any problems…_

The man snorted, "Heh. Yeah, it's good to be that cautious…" After a few more moments of walking, the bearded man let out a sigh, "It was me who found him first…"

A bead of sweat ran down Renzou's head. What was he, a psychiatrist all of a sudden? He really didn't have an interest in knowing about this guy's reasons behind helping… after all, who knew if he were telling the truth? But agh, whatever… might as well hear him out…

"Oh? Rin?"

Horden smirked, "Yeah. We caught him from a village a few rivers away from here… he has no idea that he's actually so close to what used to be his hometown…" Renzou frowned. Rin was a war prisoner, huh… The man continued, "He must've had it tough back then, too… was the only demon we found in that village. But yeah… I found him kneeling over a dead man's body, dunno who that guy was to him but… he was howling and crying over him, crying into the skies. I thought it was just so… _beautiful_." Renzou sent the man a perturbed look.

"You thought _**that**_… was beautiful?"

Horden's fist clenched together and he shook his head, "Don't look at me like that. You just don't understand, kid. You weren't there. If you saw that… when a man cries _like that_ over something…" The pink-haired monk scowled and then rushed forward to fist a hand into Horden's collar.

"You're right, I _wouldn't_ understand." Horden blinked back at him in surprise and Renzou snarled, "Because I think people look the best when they have **smiles** on their faces. Not when they're cryin'…!" He shoved the other man away and then continued their march back to the main house. A small laugh came from behind him and he glanced over his shoulder to find Horden chuckling to himself.

"Y-You're right… you're right…" The man sighed, "I don't know what I was thinkin' back then… I'm insane… and I've done so many unforgiveable things to that boy…"

Renzou glared at him, mouth filling with a bitter taste. This man… was **disgusting**. Horden's gaze was directed up at the sky, a far off look in his eyes.

"You know… at first, it was because he was incredible… you have no idea what it's like… to… _have him_ and then suddenly realize that you're being _healed_… you see every single one of your wounds, all of your exhaustion… just disappear at every thrust… like a miracle…"

Renzou felt his gut twist in pain. He couldn't think of anything other than the suffering Rin must've gone through while this man… this man was…! _Ugh… I __**don't**__ want to hear this…!_ He began trampling away again but he could still hear Horden's voice continue.

"And then, it was because it was just beautiful to see him writhe underneath you… and his eyes… they always looked like they were hanging onto something, like the thought of tomorrow… always, never giving in no matter how hopeless… I felt like I was being saved every time I looked into those eyes… and now… I've come to lov—" He was suddenly cut off by a hard punch into his cheekbone. The man fell backwards and grunted in pain. Renzou panted heavily, fist still clenched together in the position of having smashed the man's face in. The skin on his knuckles had peeled from the sheer force he had used behind the blow and after finally catching his breath, he ground out,

"**Shut up**, you sick bastard. I don't wanna hear it! You're _**never**_ touching him again. **Never.**"

Horden peered up at him, a small smile on his lips. He pressed a few fingers to his cheek gingerly and then let out a small laugh. "Heh, I… deserved that… yeah… haha, you're real lucky that it's this late at night and that we're around a place that's far from others…" After a pause, he spoke in a gentle voice, "Hey, kid," Renzou stared down at the man coldly, hands tightly fisted together and shaking as he calmly held himself back from just slamming more fists into his face. "You'll treat him right, won't you…? Show him… how it's supposed to be. Life…"

Renzou kept his eyes fixed on the man. Then, he snorted and whipped his head away, heading towards the main house, which was coming closer and closer in view. _Do I __**really**__ have to answer that, you fucking retard?_ He heard Horden guffaw behind him, as if he had heard his thoughts, and then there was the cheery call of, "See you in the morning, Shima!"

As he entered the now dark main house, the pink-haired boy let out a sigh, feeling utterly exhausted by the days events. He glanced around the room carefully, taking note that the other chiefs had all returned to their houses already. It was just as Horden said, around this time of night, there were little people around this place…

The young monk slowly climbed his way up the steps and then settled down on the small cot of his room. His eyes darted towards the window, where the many stars were twinkling back at him again—just like the night before—and his thoughts trailed off to the enchanting young demon with the deep cobalt blue eyes. Rin was still out there, waiting patiently for him… A miniscule smile spread across his lips and he fell back on his cot, hands folding under his head as he did so. The smile on Renzou's face grew more confident and he nodded to himself, eyes growing sharp. _Almost there… we're almost there, Rin… just you wait. I'll get you out of here…_ He slowly closed his eyes and he sighed into his pillow, a content smile pasted to his face. There were no more thudding sounds that night.

.:.

The next morning was broken by a loud shout from outside. Renzou—having kept watch all night—immediately shot up from his bed and rolled out, snatching up his staff which he had placed right beside his bed. His eyes darted across the room carefully, staff held up in a defensive position, and then he slowly stood up when no other sign of danger was inside. The young man shouldered his staff and raised an eyebrow. Huh… so maybe things would go smoothly after all… He peered out the window and noticed several people preparing a small wagon nearby the front gates.

A knock on his door startled him from his observations and he raised his staff up slowly. "Who is it?" He asked warily. Horden's voice came from outside the room. He was chuckling.

"I know you have that staff up, Shima. Relax, it's just me. I'm coming in," The door opened and the large bearded man strolled in, looking a bit more chipper than usual, even with the angry bruise on his cheek. Renzou winced.

"That looks like it hurts…"

Horden smirked, "Yeah, but I like how it hurts."

A bead of sweat ran down the pink-haired monk's head. "O-Okay…" He slowly lowered the staff and the man slapped a large hand onto Renzou's shoulder.

"Just here to tell ya that our village has prepared a farewell gift for you. It's a pretty long way to walk by foot and… we have a search party that's gone a little ahead of you already, if you know what I mean…" The man winked and Renzou raised an eyebrow at him. Horden leaned closer and cupped a hand around his ear, "There's a special space one of our carpenters made especially for hiding things… in case the search party decides to search you on their way back. Just in case, understand?"

Renzou frowned, "Carpenter…? Great, who else knows?"

Horden chuckled and pulled back, "Let's just say our little angel has a few more friends than he thinks he actually has in our village…" The pink-haired monk scowled and folded his arms over his chest.

"Then why haven't they gotten him out yet…?"

Horden sighed, "It's… too complicated to explain… and I'm sure you don't want to listen to our excuses anyway…"

"Yep, you got that right." Renzou narrowed his eyes at the large man, who sent a weak smile back at him.

"Anyway, enough wasting time… let's get you to him and be on your way."

The two left the main house and after a short trek through the dusty roads, they met the small group of people loading several items into the wagon. He blinked in surprise at the amount of items they were giving to him and a bead of sweat ran down his head.

"O-Oi, are you sure all of this is necessary…? I-I didn't even bring anything for you guys…" The villagers beamed at him and shook their heads. One woman piped up.

"Please share this with the rest of your people. It's to show that we are grateful for this time of peace…"

"Mr. Assiah! Mr. Assiah!" A few children rushed out and lifted their hands up to hand him several pretty stones, "Will you take these, too? A-And can you tell them, 'Thank you' for us…?" Renzou gulped, recognizing a blue and purple stone as one of the gifts Rin had given to the children. Beads of sweat ran down the back of his head. Seriously… how many people knew…? He accepted the gifts and grinned widely.

"Yeah, I'll tell 'em~ Grow up to be good kids, yeah?"

They smiled up at him and then giggled before scattering back into the crowd happily. Roy tugged on his sleeve and Renzou nearly jumped, not having noticed the young boy until then. The boy pouted and held out a fist to him. The pink-haired monk blinked and opened a palm for him, unsure if that was what he wanted him to do or not. Roy dropped a few pieces of candy into his open hand, along with a badly woven bracelet, and then murmured quietly.

"G-Give that to him… will you?"

Renzou stared at the presents. And then he laughed, raising a hand up to ruffle the boy's hair fondly. "Yeah, I'll do that." He added in a whisper, "You take care, too, yeah? You did an awesome job, ya know? A real hero, haha~" The young boy blushed and wrenched his head away from him. Then he nodded once before running back into the crowd.

Several of the chiefs moved forward, along with Horden, and they each presented their gifts as well, to celebrate the peace between the two villages which they each said that they hoped would last for centuries. Renzou smiled and nodded, responding with his own formalities. Horden was the last to see him off.

"Take care, Shima. Tell your father I said, 'Kick the bucket soon, bastard'."

"A-As if I'll say that!" Renzou's jaw nearly dropped open. Horden chuckled and then handed a soft parcel to him.

"And take this. Just a little reminder of the good times."

The pink-haired monk took the floppy package into his hands and raised an eyebrow at the bearded man. Horden merely smiled secretively and then saluted him with two fingers. Renzou snorted and then saluted him back. Without further ado, the villagers waved him off and the young monk snapped the reins on his new wagon, signaling for the horses to depart.

The sun was beginning to rise higher above the horizon and once again, the trees along the slopes were bathed in golden light. A few mountains away from the village, he pulled to a stop and peered behind, checking to see if he were a well enough distance away. The wooden and mud reinforced walls of the village were now hidden from sight. Renzou smirked and leapt into the back of the wagon, cautiously opening every box and parcel to check what was inside. There were no soldiers as he had expected, only bolts of colorful cloth, woven baskets, several salted meats and bags of grain. He smacked his staff along the inside of the wagon, searching for that secret compartment Horden had mentioned and he smiled when he heard a hollow sound. Pulling open one of the boards, he verified that the entire space was empty. And large enough to fit one person. In fact, there was even a little pillow prepared. Renzou let out a small laugh and then covered the space.

_Right then… now to make sure there aren't any followers… better safe than sorry._

The young monk trekked back the way he had come from, keeping his eyes on the trees, looking for any sign of movement. Then, he veered off the path, this time very slowly and very gently sliding down the slopes of the cliff, feet hitting the trees every now and then to keep himself stable. He glanced around the trees and then cupped his hands around his mouth, calling softly, "Rin…!" Renzou's eyes darted to the trees, listening for anything that might sound like the shuffle of a foot or the crack of a branch. But there was nothing. A silly smile spread across the pink-haired monk's face and then he hurriedly broke off into a run, dashing through the trees, headed in the direction of the village again. His eyes shifted from tree to tree, looking out for any people who might be following behind. There were none. Then, his eyes finally locked onto a pool of water sitting close to the cliff. Renzou slowed to a stop, straw sandals sliding slightly on the damp shrubbery. He lifted his hands to his mouth and blew air through it, chirping out a soft song. He repeated it two more times and then, after waiting for a second, there was a rustle of leaves.

The pink-haired boy turned and a smile lit up his lips when he saw Rin peering out from behind one tree, curious blue eyes staring back at him. The boy's legs were on the ground, covered in a pile of leaves, and the sun's rays were caressing his face, engulfing his skin in a delicate glow. Renzou grinned and opened his arms wide.

"Rin…!"

The blue-haired boy blinked. And then a small smile spread across his lips. Rin hobbled across the leaves, feet bare and dirty from stumbling through the forest, and then he walked into Renzou's arms. The pink-haired boy wrapped the other boy in a gentle embrace and then sighed into his dark blue hair, which was dusty from the dead leaves. He brushed it off, running his fingers into the other boy's hair comfortingly, and then smiled as the pieces of dead leaves fell off, giving way to the beautiful sheen of blue hair underneath.

"You'll be alright now, Rin." He breathed into his ear softly, "You'll be alright… I'll make sure of it."

.:.


	3. Chapter 3

.:.

Renzou sighed happily into the boy's hair, glad that Rin was finally safe in his arms. The worst part was over, but there was still the trek back to Assiah to worry about… after all, the search party was still up ahead. A small movement on Rin's shoulder caused him to break his thoughts and he swallowed thickly, eyes growing wide when he realized that there was a _**thing**_ crawling up the boy's shoulder. His hands snapped off of Rin instantly and he leapt back, shrieking a loud, "Pyaaaaah—!"

Rin flinched in shock and blinked at the pink-haired boy who looked deeply frightened. "Renzou…?" He voiced in confusion. The monk pointed a shaky finger in the direction of the boy's shoulder.

"B-B-Buh…! B-B-B-Buh-Bug…! Bug…!"

Rin froze. Then, he shifted his eyes to his shoulder, carefully plucking off the beetle that had decided to land on him. The blue-haired boy lifted it up and extended his hand towards Renzou, "This?"

"PYAAAHHH—! G-Get it away! Get it away…!" Renzou shook his head back and forth, nearly pissing his robes in sheer terror. Rin stared at the pink-haired monk blankly. Then, a small snicker left his lips.

"Pfft…! R-Renzou, y-you're… you're scared… of this? Y-You just rescued me and… y-you're scared of… _this_?"

"S-Shut up, Rin! Just get rid of it! I-I can't stand them!"

Rin snickered and pointed at the tree behind the pink-haired monk. "Then what about that thing behind you?" Renzou's back went stiff. His eyes darted towards the tree behind him, feeling as though he were in a ghost story and was about to be crept up on by a widow who had gone suicidal murderer. His line of sight met with a brown moth, pressed serenely up against the bark of the tree.

"PYAAAAHHHH—!" Renzou fell forward, into the leaves, trembling violently. Rin was now holding his stomach and laughing until he cried tears.

"R-Renzou…! Y-You're… hilarious…! I…! I…!" The boy collapsed onto his knees and chuckled, wiping the tears from his eyes with the backs of his hands, "I haven't… laughed like this… in _ages_…! Aha!" The pink-haired monk paused after hearing the other boy's words and a smile drew across his lips. _Rin… this won't be the last either. I'll continue to give you more things to laugh about~ I'll show you all the good things in the world…_ His eyes suddenly drew towards the line of ants crawling steadily closer to his nose. He shot back up onto his feet, shaking from head to toe.

"A-A-Anway, Rin… c-c-can we… h-hurry and get out of here…? Aha… ha ha…" He noticed that the other boy's cheeks were now dirty with grime and it seemed like the insects wouldn't stop leaving him alone. Renzou shivered. "A-Actually… how about you go, aha, wash yourself off first… ha… ha ha…"

Rin smiled brightly at the pink-haired monk. "Okay~" He let out another chuckle and waddled his way towards the pool of water, pulling his robes off his shoulders as he moved. Renzou watched the sunlight gleam across the boy's creamy shoulders and he gulped, suddenly feeling inexplicably embarrassed. Rin… really was beautiful, huh… and so smooth and soft looking…

_W-Woah, Renzou…! Hold it__ right__ there. You're not going to start feeling __**that**__ way for him, got that? So, yes, he's kissed you once. S-So what? I-It's not like it meant anything… he was just healing you! Friends… remember? __**Friends**__… besides, you like girls, remember? Girls? Remember, girls?_

Rin slipped out from the robes and then sunk into the water, smiling happily at the cool and soothing sensation. Renzou's mouth hung open slightly, just watching the other boy bathe in the sparkling pool. As the boy shook the water out of his hair and opened his eyes to look in his direction—those wonderfully intense blue eyes were _looking at __**him**_—Renzou's breath caught in his throat.

**_Fuck_**.

Rin beamed at him in a content manner, "Renzou, you should come join me!"

"U-Um… thanks but…" He turned his eyes down to an interesting patch of soil on his right and murmured quietly, "I'll be fine…" He could feel Rin's eyes still on him and he swallowed, determined not to look in the other boy's direction. Finally, the boy wasn't staring at him anymore and he heard the sound of splashing. He took a peek in Rin's direction and then felt his cheeks heat up. Rin was just climbing back out from the pool of water, skin now glowing even more beautifully under the sun's light from being clean as well as wet. The expression on Rin's face—eyes half-lidded and lips pursed together in concentration as he hauled himself from the side—was, for lack of a better description, _absolutely __**tantalizing**_. Renzou turned away and hid his blushing face in his hands.

_Gaaahhh, I can't believe you, Renzou! You idiot pervert! Rin's already been through enough of that. He doesn't need __**you**__ to also be lusting after him! Die, Lust, die!_

Rin finished patting himself dry and clothed himself before moving behind his pink-haired friend. He placed a hand on his shoulder and chirped a simple, "Renzou?"

"GYAAAHHHH—!" The young monk jumped and then turned towards Rin, who was blinking profusely at his reaction. He was met with a small laugh.

"Haha, stupid Renzou. I don't have any bugs on me anymore, see?" The blue-haired boy grinned up at him innocently and Renzou felt his heart melt. Yeah, there was no way he was going to go after Rin like that. Rin didn't need that right now. Renzou smiled and lifted a hand up to run it through the other boy's damp hair tenderly, _carefully_.

"Yeah… well then… shall we?" He smirked and gestured towards the field of trees he had come from. Rin nodded and hopped after him eagerly.

"Yeah~"

The trek back took a little longer than the time it had taken for Renzou to get there, but all the same, they were able to reach the place where he had left the wagon. The pink-haired monk helped Rin up the trees, occasionally holding onto the boy's hand or wrist to keep him from falling back down the slope. He vaguely noted that Rin's hands were thin and delicate within his grip. They were almost like a girl's but not quite as small, not as large as his either. They were… cute. And even though they were a man's hands, he could probably pin them down easily with his fingers… He shook his head dejectedly. He had to get rid of those thoughts…

"Renzou." He heard Rin call his name and he turned, finding the boy's dirt-covered hand extended towards him again. There was a faint blush on Rin's cheeks and there was a look of reluctance in his eyes, "Hand…?"

_C-Cute! Cuuute! Cuute!_

Renzou bit his bottom lip to stop himself from squealing. Then, he reached down to help Rin up another steep slope, guiding him up the tree roots and loose soil on the side of the cliff. After another few minutes of climbing, Renzou smiled, noticing that the trees were suddenly growing sparse. "We're almost there, Rin. Hold on to one of the trees while I check the place over. If it's safe, I'll come back for you, alright?" He glanced over his shoulder and saw the other boy nod in understanding, but with eyebrows drawn together in worry. Renzou chuckled at the look, sending back a reassuring glance, and then he hauled himself up the rest of the way as quickly as he could.

As soon as he reached the top, the pink-haired monk flicked out the three segments of his staff from within his robes and fit them together quickly. Then, he slowly crept his way towards the wagon, eyeing the premises with caution. Renzou leapt behind the wagon, eyes darting across the insides warily. He shifted his gaze so that they were on the trees again, looking for any odd shaped shadows or figures in the forest. There was nothing. Deeming the area safe, he hopped into the wagon and flipped through the items again, checking to see if anything had been taken while he had been gone. In the secret compartment, the pillow was still in the same place he had left it.

The coast was clear.

Renzou smiled and then walked back to the side of the cliff, looking down to see Rin working hard to pull himself up to another tree. The pink-haired monk smiled at the sight. "Rin!" He called gently. The boy looked up at him, blue eyes looking incredibly vibrant from the exercise. _S-So pretty…!_ Renzou gulped and lowered his staff to the blue-haired boy. "Here, grab onto this. I'll pull you up. Use your feet to push at the same time."

"O-Oh…" Rin nodded and tightly gripped onto the offered staff with both hands. The two worked to get him up and finally, the boy made it to the top, body falling forward into Renzou's arms. Rin grinned and Renzou could see the boy's fluffy tail waggling back and forth in an excited manner. "I made it…! Eheh." The pink-haired boy felt his chest explode from Rin's small version of rejoicing and he made a strangled noise in his throat before hugging Rin tightly, unable to hold himself back.

"Yep, you made it~! Now let's get you to Assiah!" He released the boy and led him to the wagon. Renzou watched Rin climb in and he grinned as he hopped in behind him. "I've got a lot of presents for you, too."

Rin settled onto the wooden boards and then blinked, eyes growing round, "For… **me**?"

A wide grin spread across Renzou's face, "Yep! Actually, you can kind of say that everythin' in here's for you, haha~ Even the wagon… anyway, here. This is from the kids…" He reached into his robes and grabbed Rin's hand, carefully placing the stones into the other boy's palm. The blue-eyed boy gaped at the small stones in his hands, eyes round in shock. Renzou smiled and he took Roy's gift out, placing them in Rin's other hand. "This is from the little hero who told me where to find you…" Rin's eyes darted up to meet Renzou's.

"R-Roy…?"

Renzou grinned, "What? So you know his name! Haha, yeah. He's awesome. He said that you're an angel. And I totally agree with him~" The monk winked.

Rin gulped and tears began pooling in his eyes. His fingers curled around the gifts and he clutched them closer to his chest. Renzou rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, wondering if he should continue. He hadn't wanted to make Rin cry but… well, it should be fine if they were happy tears… Renzou's gaze shifted towards the mysterious floppy package Horden had handed him. Should he give it to Rin…?

"… _Just a little reminder of the good times."_

He frowned. Well… it should be alright to give it to Rin… He lifted the parcel and slowly moved it towards the blue-haired boy.

"Uhh… and this… is another person's gift…"

Rin's head raised and as soon as his eyes landed on the package, his expression seemed to turn to one of fright. Renzou's eyes widened. Uh oh. Wrong move. He laughed nervously and began putting the package away again.

"Aha ha… uhh… n-nevermind, let's—"

"No." He heard Rin's barely audible voice, "I-It's okay… let me open it…"

Renzou's eyebrows drew together in concern. "… are you sure? You… know who this is from, right…?"

Rin sent him a nod and then placed the other gifts in his lap, reaching with both hands for the package. Renzou frowned, not really wanting to hand it over. After all… this was from Horden. The guy who had been the one who first abducted him from his hometown, the one who had violated Rin over and over again, didn't even stop when he felt guilty about it… but… he was also the one who had helped him and Rin leave from the village safely…

_Urgh…_ Renzou sighed and placed the package into Rin's outstretched hands, _I hope what I'm doin' won't come back and bite me in the ass later…_

Rin slowly unraveled the folds of cloth that were keeping the gift inside wrapped neatly. When he finished, Renzou blinked at the beautiful aquamarine robe that seemed to fade into a light purple on the ends. It also came with a golden embroidered sash to keep the robes tied together, all folded and creased carefully. _Clothes, huh…_ His gaze shifted towards Rin and he jolted in shock, finding a trail of tears falling from one bright blue eye, curving down the boy's soft cheek and down to his chin.

"R-Rin…?"

"Renzou…" Rin sniffled and then clenched his eyes shut, looking almost as though he were in pain, "I… I _have_ to go back." His voice cracked slightly at the end.

What?

Renzou felt his muscles grow numb and the blood drain from his vessels after hearing the other boy's words. Go back…? Did he mean that? He wanted to _**go back**_ there…? N-No…! No! He couldn't…! Not there… not so he could be abused all over again…! He had already decided; he was going to make him laugh, show him all the good things…! Why did Rin want to go back…? He wouldn't let him! He wouldn't let him be touched like that again…!

"N-No… you can't…!" Renzou heard himself whimper. Rin's eyes opened again, revealing those deep blue irises, now shimmering from the tears in his eyes.

"T-They need me…" He dropped the package from his hands and began climbing to his feet, "I have to—"

"No!" Renzou cried, reaching out and grabbing Rin by the wrist, yanking him back. Rin gasped as he tumbled down into Renzou and the pink-haired boy flipped them so that he was pressing Rin's wrists down against the wooden floor boards with his hands.

"Renzou…?" Rin's eyes were wide in surprise, tears still in his eyes. Renzou grit his teeth together, leaning over the other boy in frustration.

"Rin… I… I can't let you go back there. There's **no way** I'm letting them do those things to you again…"

"But… but… they need me. **He** needs m—"

"That bastard doesn't need you!" Renzou spat, hands gripping onto Rin's even tighter, determined to keep the boy here. He was safe _here_. Safe with him. "He doesn't need you… he… needs to get **away** from you! Don't you understand what those gifts mean?" He growled out, eyes fixed to Rin's, hoping that he could somehow transmit these feelings of his through to him, "They want you to be happy…! T-They… they don't want you to stay there and keep livin' like _that_… there's… there's so much more to life than being needed in _**that**_ way… than to… stayin' in the shadows, never bein' acknowledged and just leavin' little gifts here and there to make other people happy… that's not how people are supposed to be needed, Rin…!" His vision was blurring. He couldn't see how Rin was looking at him and he wasn't sure if he wanted to. Renzou cursed to himself quietly and bit his lip. Damn it…! What did he need to do to get through to this guy…? Was it enough to say all of this? "T-That's not… i-it's not a one-way street… like that…!"

"Renzou…"

"Rin." He sniffed, "Rin… I won't let them keep on takin' advantage of you like that… I won't…"

"Renzou… let me go."

Renzou felt his entire body flinch from those words. His hands trembled against Rin's wrists. N-No… he wouldn't let him go…!

"Let go."

The pink-haired boy felt his heart freeze at the finality in those words. Then, he slowly, gradually, loosened his grip. "R-Rin… don't go back…" He croaked out, feeling Rin's arms slip through his grasp, leaving them so empty now. Just so empty…

And then he felt a hand touch his cheek. A thumb wiped at his eye, clearing some of the blurriness away. Rin was smiling softly back up at him, eyes still wet, but now a beautiful clear blue. Renzou's heart beat faster, beginning to realize what that expression meant. The blue-haired boy wove his arms around his torso and pulled him down against him into a gentle embrace.

"Sorry, Renzou… I'm sorry…" Rin murmured into his shoulder, "I'll stay… don't cry…" Renzou's eyes widened at the other boy's words and he felt tears rise in his eyes again. He snorted.

"I-Idiot, shouldn't I be the one sayin' that?"

"Don't cry… Renzou…" Rin lifted a hand up, weaving it into his pink hair soothingly. Renzou hiccupped. Damn it… that felt so nice… He squeezed his eyes shut, leaning into the calming warmth surrounding him. His arms scooped Rin up and he pulled him close against him, basking in that hot yet warm feeling they were sharing. D-Damn it… he wasn't supposed to be the one being comforted…

"R-Renzou…" The boy's eyes opened when he heard the uncertain way his name was being spoken in. Renzou pulled back slightly and his breath hitched in his throat when he saw tears falling freely from Rin's eyes. He leapt back instantly, releasing the other boy from his arms, and he wiped away at the other boy's tears with haste.

"W-What's wrong, Rin? W-Why're you crying so much…?"

Rin let out a small laugh which sounded more like something between a cough and a choke. "T-Then… i-is… is _this_ what it means… to be needed?"

Renzou froze. Then he also let out a laugh and then pulled the blue-haired boy up into his arms, hugging him tightly. "Yeah, Rin… yeah…" He felt Rin swallow and then smile against his neck. There was a soft breath of air where the boy let out a small, "Eheh~" against him and Renzou couldn't help but pull him in closer.

After another second where they held onto each other, feeling their hearts beat rapidly together, Renzou finally loosened his hold and pulled Rin back with a content smile on his lips. His mission began to return to his mind in full and he rubbed the other boy's cheeks with his thumbs, finishing off the rest of the tears on his face.

"So… shall we still go to Assiah?" He grinned. Rin laughed back and nodded.

"Y-Yeah…! Take me to see Assiah."

Renzou gave him a thumbs up and a smirk, "Alright, leave it to me." He shot up on his feet, ready to go towards the front of the wagon, but then he felt his vision spin. _U-Urgh, oh shit… I had no idea I was this exhausted, ha ha…_ As he sat down for a moment to regain his eyesight, he heard Rin ask in concern.

"Renzou…?"

The pink-haired boy laughed and held up a hand to demonstrate that he was fine. "Don't worry, Rin. I'm just a bit tired is all, ha ha~ Didn't get much sleep yesterday night so—!" His words were interrupted by lips and a wet tongue against his mouth. Renzou's eyes snapped open, finding Rin leaning into him with his eyes gently closed.

Wha-Wha-Whaa—!

His face turned bright red and he couldn't move until Rin pulled back, tongue returning back into his mouth. "R-Rin…?"

The blue-haired boy grinned brightly.

"Now you're not tired anymore. Right, Renzou?"

The pink-haired boy gulped. He… had to teach this guy not to give away his kisses every time he saw someone looking injured or exhausted…! Seriously…! But… just for now… Renzou licked his lips, feeling his senses fully rejuvenating. His eyes lowered mischievously and then, he immediately feinted crumbling over with another dizzy spell.

"U-Urgh… actually, I still feel kinda…"

"H-Huh? But it usually works… l-lemme try again…" He heard Rin exclaim nervously and then shuffle close to him a second time. As soon as he felt lips and tongue pressed against his mouth again, he opened it this time, angling himself so that he could pry and massage Rin's mouth wider open for better access. His hand reached behind the boy's nape to pull him in closer and Renzou smirked inwardly, meeting Rin's tongue with his own. He twirled and teased it playfully and he heard the other boy gasp, letting out a soft, "Nngh…!" in reply to his ministrations. He could see the other boy's eyes staring back at him, alternating between half-lidded in pleasure and being wide in surprise, and he took that chance to slide his tongue into Rin's warm mouth. "Hn-nnngh…" Renzou was pleased to hear another moan from the other boy and he swept over the cavern with his tongue carefully, tasting as much of him as he could. Rin's tongue was twitching about in place, as if it were adorably confused, and he slurped and sucked on Rin's mouth, curling his tongue around the other boy's tongue again—giving it one last delightful rub—before finally pulling back out and releasing him. The pink-haired boy grinned deviously and swallowed, licking his lips once more to savor the slightly sweet yet salty taste of Rin's mouth. After a second—where he just watched in amusement as the dazed boy sat still in one place with cheeks slowly turning pink and mouth still open—he sent him a satisfied smile.

"There we go~ I feel **much** better!"

Rin was blinking rapidly at him now with the back of his hand raised over his mouth and face a deep red.

"R-Renzou… w-what was…?"

"To Assiah~" He laughed and snapped the reins vigorously, watching the sun beam back down at him from high in the sky.

"W-Wait! Renzou! W-What was that just now? HEY!"

.:.


End file.
